New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-12-25
SAILING A MILE \ MINUTE.
dE WONDERFUL fP;ED ATTAINED By
ICE-lAHhTS.
,srrAGlNG ZOE A r srIVr SEAS y on THF HUDSON
SOME FONTS IN RFFEEFNCE To TaE
srIl.T LEARNED PROM A LEAD
ING NtCHi s>iAN.


iron, Ms craft and FURNISH M together the big
iron runners Of his zach. and certain interesting
incidents" about astonishing runs which hc once
made On the principle that il il an i'll wind that
blows nobody good. the cold wave which turns the
Hudson 20 Ice brings joy to the ice-yGcmsmons
acart although it mporrily throws the thousands
ont If employ mcnt who navigate that much-usel
stream
~ winter. however. is an annual Visitor, it j.
very much 70 Americas credit that certain of her
,izcns have carried icc-yachting to a perfection
unknown and undrcamcd Of in the cold countries
Of Europe Yet in great portion of the United
States the sport is not practicable. large body
Of water : required where the course the wind
will in general way, he across il. and the SNOW
tall light. II - happens that the Hudson fulhls
these conditions better than any other large river
and the centre of icc-yachting activity is to he
found there. poughEccp>ic mas long been the lee
rachtsmrn's headquarters. and the principal clubs
how in existence are the Hudson River New-lla
rurg Foughkccps.c and Shrcy, sbury, Of Red Eaall
s. j. Every village along the Hudson north Of
Ncwburg. however, possesses some sort # ice
craft. ON yachting day in January last the
writer counted between Hyde Park and Ncwburs
Bay distance of perhaps forty miles, 10 les than
forty-two yachts under sail.
ICr-YACHTiNG Az EXPENSIVE SPORT.
men VIII, compose tn, Hudson River clnh>. is by
no means an economical sport The yachts
finished with great elegance. The cushions Of the
car arc crimson plush the woodwork is highly
.shcd and the ir0nwOili after being finished with
,rcotcst care, is co,cred with silver bronze. The
cost of yacht varies from 500 to $1,000. The
liidsOn River Club is the principal iccyacht club
Ii formed in Se' bS number of gentlemen
belonging to the Ponghkccpsic Club, disagree
mcnt having arisen III that body. j. \. Roosevelt
is the commodore, and on the list of members are
many names we'll known III New-(orI society
Among them James Roosevelt. j. a. Roosevelt,
l.. Harrison Sanford. Irving GrinncL ]. {. Barron.
Archibald Rogers. Brockholst Cutting. Woodbury.
Kane, Reginald RvcS. NJ. f. Schuyler and II. lIv-
ingsiOn. Many yacht-owncrs hive during the
greater part Of the year nj their country places
along the river, and are therefore, on hand To
watch the ice and weather. Others however
live in New-lo r<, and upon the appearance OF
yachting weather kilograms fly thick and fast be
tween Poughllcepsic and the city, and by noon
most of the enthusiasts of the club are on hand
equipped for a cruise. Their equipment by the
way, is rather interesting. Over heavy under
clothing is drawn suit of linen. and over that the
usual thick wooen clothing Of winter. except that
fur or dossI>in Jacket Is worn over the walstcoat
and over that pea-jacket. The feet are cncascd
in long boots of felt half an inch thick. fur
cap big enough to cover the cars, fur gloves and
goggles complete the outfit.
NEW YACHTS FOR COMING RACES.
-Four yachts are being constructed at Pough-
kccpsic for use during the coming season. The
work is being done by j. T.. Buckhout the princl
pal professional icc-yach builder of the world OF
The new yachts. one to spread about 800 feet OF
canvas IS being built for Or. Barron and VIII be-
taken to Lake lIopatcong. Another a sister TO
the Northern Light, is to 20 to Newbure. The re-
naming two viii spread from four TO five hundred
feet of canvas and being constructed with side
timbcrs and large decks. They are TO be used as
cruisers One will go to Tuxedo and the other to
the suburbs of Boston. The old Icclc spreading
l,O7O feet Of canvas and one of the largest yachts
on the river has gone to llavciStraw.
The experience Of last winter demonstrated con
clusiyely that the iatcocn rugged yacht su-
pcror in Il heavy blow to the iib aud malr>ail
yacht, but altogether inferior for usual weather
The atecn sail has many advantages. bat III large
craft these seem TO bc offset by the fact that a
Doom is required nearly twice the weight Of that
used in the jib and mains:til rig Of the same size
This acts practically Il serious handicap. Dur
ing the past season. therefore, even the stanchcst
supporters Of the latccn rig admitting the logic Of
facts have had Their craft changed over 10 the Ib
and mansa rig The Avalanche, belonging TO
T. II. Sanford of the Hudson River Club and the
Scud. belonging TO James T. Weaver of the
SlIch SbufN NAui are pIlIcIIdl 9dtLN7 tHuS ~
rugged.
Az Exc, LrEXr OUTLOOK FOR THIS WINTLg.
The yachting outlook Oh the Hudson for this year
Is excellent. The Shrewsbury Ice Yacht Club. Of
Red BANK y. j.. has challenged the Hudson River
Club for the Challenge i'can1nt OF America The
NcW-I Hamburg Club has also challenge IN for
the same pcnEant Within the Hudson River
Cub the Cidcr,iccyc prize for lrst-class yachts
silver flask, is also Dc open for contest. In this
tr,l
last seasons contests.
The river closed opposite Roosevelt Point just
north of Polghlocisel December :, 1886. The
first Yachting occurred on December 20. the ice
being then five inches thick. \ SuOwStOrm fol
lowed and Yachting ceased until January ), from
which datc TO March II there were twenty-five
sailing days when the ice was in good condition,
and the Wind strong enough TO drive the yachts.
TIE iIGATIAs LAST YEAR.
Regattis occurred IS follows: February Chad
lcngc Cup open to any ice-yacht on the river
Course twenty miles, wind west Of north and
strong The Reindeer of the Hudson River Club
wan IN 81 minutes 30 seconds. the Northern
Light, of the Poughkecpsc Club, defending the
pcnnant. being second; time, 60 minutes 80 sec
onds. ON February II the Iciclc defeated the
Northern Light the latter beat the Avalanche
and in third race the Avalanche defeated the
Northern Light and the Reindeer In these races
the course was four miles and was sailed in sin
minutes.
On February IA a regatta for the Challenge Pen
hant OF America open 10 any ice-yacht club IN the
world, the Hudson River Club challenging the
P9ughkeepsic Club The course was sixteen miles.
There were seven entries by the first named club
and four by the latter. The Jack Frost belonging
TO Archibald Rogers, of the Hudson River Club.
won in Is minutes 40 seconds The Great Scott
the race for sccOnd-class yachts ON March IA
and the Cherry was victorious in the fourth class
There were also match races between the Great
Scott and Arrow, each winning two On March
IS the Icicc defeated the Avalanche and the Ar
roxy ,von in the third class T,vo d,,,e lo,o, 81,